Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 08/22/1810:38 AM

Practiced yesterday. Bowled all Summer on a very easy house shot. So yesterday, met some friends to practice.

The house laid the normal league shot down. My friends were amazed how slick it was. I, on the other hand, found it to my liking. As others slid their reactive balls past the target, I routinely rolled pocket hit after pocket hit with my Hybrid.

I guess the Summer practice I did did work. Release was smooth, no force, ball came off my fingers easily, full extension and great slide, and the ball had a great roll.

That push out to the dry in the right corner paid dividends. My Hybrid ball had 12 boards of movement in the final 15 feet. From the 5 board to the pocket.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 08/22/1801:37 PM

League meeting on Friday, we start the 7th of September. Going to be an interesting year, I hope the state of the league is OK in terms of # of bowlers. Our president and secretary are not returning to bowl and I'm pretty sure a few other bowlers are not coming back from what I have heard. One of my teammates is now the president and the wife of one of my other teammates is now the secretary.

I've been practicing nearly every week. Going to go on Sunday morning with my wife and meet some friends to bowl with them. I'd been bowling solo all summer and trying to not bowl at too fast of a pace. It will be nice to have other people on the lanes with me so I will have to wait, hopefully it eases me back to league pacing.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 08/23/1808:50 AM

I am joining a 4 person league in my home house, because the singles league I bowl in is moving from my home house back the the amf place it was in when I joined, over a decade ago. I will bowl the singles, but, I already told the secretary I didn't know if it would go beyond this season, because I so despise the way amf treats bowlers that I really get negative even walking into their establishments. I will be joining back up with the senior travel league (if it goes - trouble getting participants). Every other week, some competitive bowlers, but mostly a funsy league anymore.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 08/25/1805:32 PM

Really looking forward to this season. Doing 3 leagues this year. Reluctantly returning to Sunday night at Blowmor but wanted to bowl with a couple of friends that I've bowled with for the past 5 years or so and this is the only night they can do and the only center within reasonable driving distance for all of us. So just going to treat that one as a fun night out and try to not put any undue pressure on myself.

My other two leagues are good competitive leagues in two other centers. Competitive handicap format on Wednesdays and a scratch league on Thursdays. Both on a little bit more challenging than a THS (7:1 and 9:1 respectively) which I like. Also the lineage is quite good at these centers. $9.50 at one, $11 at the other. Sec/treasurer only taking $.50 per bowler (used to that fee being $1 along with $13.50-$14 lineage). Also the scratch league has a sponsor adding $2,000 to the prize fund.

Not putting any average/honor score goals on myself this season. The goal is to throw the ball consistently well and make the right adjustments. I improved my release over the summer and I'm seeing results in pin carry but the consistency isn't quite there yet so not going to get discouraged if I don't come out of the gate shooting telephone numbers.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 08/27/1808:04 PM

well I'm back...I got roped into a league again, been a decade since I played. Bought a house in 09 and had to cut some budgets for it. Now I'm back and my balls are 10-12yrs old but not cracked.

5 man team handicap league, most heavy hitters are there and guess most will be 210 and up. Old ave at this house was 204 so should be interesting if I can get back up to speed in a couple of weeks.

My kinetic is pretty shot up and needs to be replaced, the Storm dim is drilled for oil and never saw much use. There still seems to be life left in it til it gets replaced with modern version, it still rolls out strong if I don't over crank on it. Looking at get a new "A" ball, long and strong backend movement if I can do my part, 5" from pap. Storm Intence Fire, BlackWidow black n golds on the short list. Never shot w/ a hybrid before so will be learning curve.

I need to measure my rev rates and speed on the next practice night. Take that bit of info when I order a ball later this week.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 08/28/1801:24 AM

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 08/28/1802:19 AM

thanks! body mechanics feel almost the same, almost like I never stopped, until I have to throw spare balls. I just have to remember how to read the lanes as they break down and I break down. I don't have the endurance to bowl many sets in one night anymore. This house breaks down faster then others and I'm always chasing the solid 10 pin here. Such is life, maybe a new ball will help.

We have league meeting tomorrow nite for sign up and see how much of a punching bag we'll be. Plan is to throw a couple of sets with team, have the pro shop measure my pap cuz I can't remember it. 5 1/4 over 3/8" or something close to that. League starts day after Labor day. Kinda nervous of how bad I'm going to suck HAHA

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 08/30/1811:13 PM

Welcome back to bowling

Week 1 in the books for me. Not exactly the start I wanted to get off to in either one. Started out last night being hot and humid both outside and inside the bowling center and just did not have a good look on a shot I've been practicing on all summer. A lot of over/under and ended up shooting 530.

Tonight in the scratch league had an even worse shot. I was a little more prepared and brought a few extra balls for different things I might run into (also hadn't bowled at this particular house all summer so didn't know what to expect really). But I was really was not at all expecting a shot where you couldn't lay it down anywhere outside of the 12 board without it taking off. So had no choice but to move in and my Ridiculous Asym kept me in the pocket most of the night and I actually was on point with my spare shooting. Got out of there with 193, 204, 211 for 608, but bowling anchor that was not good enough. Opponent shot 739 and really the only chance I had to take a point off of him was in the last game. If I had struck in the 9th, 10th, and 11th I would have locked him out but instead ringing 7 in the 9th and 8 pin in the 10th and instead of a possible game in the 240s merely snuck into the two-teens.

Long season ahead, not going to get too discouraged. Last year I definitely peaked early in the season and the whole 2nd half was a huge letdown so the goal this time is to get better as the season progresses.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/01/1806:23 AM

Our fall league has changed it's format. I was skeptical at first but I think I am going to like it. It's like a normal league but with a side pot. Each bowler pays $14. $5 goes to lineage, $6 to prize fund, and $3 goes the side pot. Each week all teams are bowling against the House team series for the side pot.The teams that beat the house split the pot for that week. First week 4 teams beat the house and $57 was added to their pot earnings that will be distributed at the end of the year. A good start to the year. Our team is 14-0 and beat the house in week 1 and 2.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/01/1803:09 PM

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/04/1806:55 PM

Senior league started today. Lanes were really screwy. Said they oiled last nite, but IDK how much use after oiling. Prob was before a league.

Well, the rest of the house leagues started last week, and the Asst Mgr said ev one complained about the shot. So, the reg Mgr and the laneman and another lane guy form another center were adjusting the oiler and reoiled the first 10 lanes.

Then, there was the weirdest thing I ever saw. The 3 of them were trying out the oil pattern. Hahaha, if they only had someone who knew how to bowl, they could tell.

Watched a dozen balls by the 3 and no one came close to the pocket. Just what did that prove? Was the oil bad, or do they all suck?

Had words with the Reg Mgr. Asked him why he is chasing all leagues out of the center. He asked what I meant. Told him to count heads in league. Mon mens went from 32 teams to 18. Thurs men's went from 22 teams to 10. Saturday leagues left the house. Mixed leagues disbanded. WTH, and he can't see that???

Went from 2 nights of double shift and leagues on all other nights, to only 4 nites with leagues.

And, this was the Brunswick Flagship Center. Only a few miles from the Corporate office. Top 10 grossing Brunswick center in the Country. New lanes, new machines. Where they brought people to visit, and hosted 2-3 PBA tourneys a year. Now, its' virtually not used.

But, the Senior league grew by 4 teams. At the expense of the Ladies league which won't bowl there because they changed the hours on Tues and Thurs to open late. The ladies used to bowl at 9 am, but the center opens at 11.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/05/1801:01 AM

meh type of night, no consistency, felt lost. 189, 246, 171 = 606Last game left a mess a buckets and splits hitting light, changed balls and played inside and limited the damages of 4 open frames to start the game. Frustrating after rolling a decent game before it.

202 ave for the night. I'll practice again this weekend. Guess not too horrible start after 10yr break

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/07/1812:37 AM

Last night 206, 210, 181. Really struggled with carry. The good news is my teammates picked me up and we took 22 out of 26.

Tonight got to my scratch league they had trouble with the AC and the approaches were pretty bad. Couldn't really slide at all and I was tentative the first game but did strike out 9th and 10th to salvage a 209. Second game improved to 217, clean game with only single pin leaves.

Third game started stringing them and had a chance to go off the sheet for 259. The anchor on the other team had a chance to go out for 265 which would be good enough for him to take total off of me as well. I got up and struck in the 10th and he left a flat 10. So the opening was there and I buried the 2nd shot. 8 on the last ball was good enough to take it and we won grand total by 3 pins too. Effectively a 5 point ball there and we ended up winning 15-10.

So 683 but really happy with the bounceback after last night and week 1. Made a change to going back to the side of the ball instead of trying to roll from behind it after listening to Mo Pinel's talk today (which Boss posted a link to in the other thread). Carry was much better.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/11/1806:17 PM

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/12/1804:59 PM

had a rough night, ringing 10pins all night and few splits. 538 last night with high of 190 on last game. Will drop my ave from 202 to 190 for next week.

Good note. I was working allot on working my swing to be more free flowing, before I was bending my elbow allot, cradling it to much and using my arm to get speed/revs. This was also working my lower back. I'm able to swing a hint higher and unwind my release to generate some good revs and be sorta consistent at it.

Since the beginning of time, I always had my right foot half step forward for dot placement, as for me it helped line up my arm swing to aim. not a problem until I start having to play around the 18bd at the arrows, I can't open my hips/shoulder up enough to get the body angle I need to project the ball out playing that deep. Will have to make a practice day this week to work on the foot game.

I had to put in $5 into the team bad bowler's pot. $1 for each sub 200 score and 50cent for each spare missed that isn't a split.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/15/1808:39 AM

Two weeks into this season and I have no clue what I will find next week in league. I was practicing over the summer on a morning after a trio league bowled the night before on a fresh shot. The lanes were consistent and really weren't broken down that much. I had also gone one Sunday morning on the fresh right before the season started and they played just a few boards weaker just like I thought they would.

The first week of league, they started on the fresh like I expected, but broke down drastically by the early part of the second game. I ended up switching to the Critical Mass from the Vintage Zone and was able to bowl well enough the third game to shoot a 611 after being under a 600 pace going into the last game. I ended the night playing deeper with the Critical Mass that I had all summer.

At the second night of league last night, I noticed right away from myself and everyone else that they were hooking like the ball hit a brick wall. Any miss slightly to the right or a touch slow was taking a nosedive and a lot of fun splits were left (multiple 3-4 combos from rightys). My first game was marred by two splits, one in the 10th that hurt my start to the night. I decided that resin was too much, so I switched to my Turbo to start the 2nd game. I underestimated how much it would hook and left a split right away with it. I moved in a little after that and found the line. I mostly kept up with transitions as they broke down and got up to a 614 for the night. I ended up playing near 3rd arrow with the Turbo by the end of the night. The last shot of the night I thought I had swung out too much and it roared back high flush.

My big positive is that my only missed spares through 6 games were splits, a 3-6-10, and a 3-6-9-10. The negative is I have no idea what ball to use next week. If the lanes stay the way they were last night, I'm thinking that I'll see a lot of use out of my Turbo. I might take it out first and if I can play a line around or slightly inside 2nd arrow on the fresh, I'm going to assume anything reactive will do the same thing it did last night.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/16/1810:58 PM

Originally Posted By: jsigone

love those games where it comes down to the 10th on the last game

good scores!

Thanks, looks like you are making some good progress yourself. The high scores will come.

Unfortunately for me wasn't able to parlay that victory into much. Bowled 2 tournaments last weekend and did decent but missed the cut by 16 pins in one and about 30 in the other. Just couldn't put enough strikes together. Sunday night shot a decent 662 to open that league and then started Wednesday with 220 but went downhill after that and fell shy of 600 with a 594.

Thursday opened with a 226 but really needed to carry a 2nd strike in the 10th to take my point and instead left a ringing 7. The rest of the night really struggled. Three straight splits in the 2nd game and the 3rd wasn't much better (164, 179). Tonight went 194, 232, 214 for a respectable 640. Got a DV8 Alley Cat on the way which will hopefully help with some of the transition and over/under I've been dealing with in all of my leagues.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/19/1801:47 AM

another MEH night, lanes was broken down from the previous league and I think there was 2 times I had oil on the ball cuz I shanked it so far inside I should have been a lefty HAHA

148 with 4 opens eek, 2 were splits, 2 were bad spare pick ups213 got some love and linked some Xs together187 struggled with carry front half and picked up some luck on the back end.

There were 4 hammer black n golds on the rack, all playing the almost same lines on the break.

I had a few burn out throw and the ball broke, then flattened out to a zig zage before hitting pocket. I really need to practice my aim and swing better. 548 for the set. Hope I can get better next week. Ave dropped 3 more pins to 187 for next week. we won only 1 game today

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/20/1804:10 PM

It took me three weeks, but I put a little something together last night, particularly when I paid more attention to my elbow position in my swing. Spare game might need work, but that could come around.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/20/1807:54 PM

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/21/1812:10 AM

GL with your knee Dennis, hopefully you were able to bowl.

Last night was a struggle for me although I felt I threw the ball pretty well but went 182, 188, 204. Just didn't have the reaction I needed down the lane. Had a shiny Verdict and a Cash with a little bit of surface on it with a double thumb drilling. Verdict went too long down the lane and the Cash just didn't make the turn at the end. Tried to make adjustments with those balls to try and carry and made things worse before having an OK 3rd game. Despite my struggles I was able to take 3 out of my 4 points and the team actually split 13-13 despite losing total.

Got my Alley Cat today threw it in the scratch league. Lanes were better than last week I think due to the cooler weather we've been having. Didn't play as dry but still enough friction to throw my new ball. Started out with 257 but my opponent (a lefty cranker) shot 266 so I lost my point while our team actually took the other 5. Scores across the house were through the roof and the eliminator cut was 240. Second game had a chance to go off the sheet and shoot 257 again but just didn't quite get out of it cleanly and left a pocket 7-9. Shot 224 which was just enough to stay in the eliminator but my opponent took advantage of that opening and struck out for 227.

3rd game the transition hit my opponent while I only had to make small moves to stay in the pocket. However I was struggling to carry and had to settle for 191 but it was enough to split with my opponent who had a disastrous final game. Team took 14 out of 25.

Next week I'll be bowling in the 3rd position with our adjusted averages now taking effect and the lineup in this league being set by average (lowest to highest). Teammate is averaging 223 so far while I am at 211. Happy to cede it to him for now especially after only taking 5 of 16 points. I will be facing mostly low 200 average bowlers from the 3 spot.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/21/1807:41 AM

Whelp.....the first session was a complete bust for me, as I wanted to throw balls that weren't conducive to the condition...THAT is on me. I missed the next four sessions (across 3 leagues) because I was out of town, but Wednesday night I did reasonable throwing nothing but my polished, urethane, spare ball. 170something, 160something, 230something ~ 565. Picked most of my easies [shrug]. I expect Saturday, at an AMF house, I will actually see some oil and be able to use my brandy new Radical Beyond Ridiculous! Or at least my also new Roto-grip Winner.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/22/1808:17 AM

League was interesting last night, but not because of my bowling. The lanes were hooking a lot again this week and my plan to use my Turbo worked out well. 230,225,219 for a 674 and my only opens were two splits. 9 games in and I've not missed a single pin spare.

Our team took 5, but we were bowling against ourselves as the other team only had 1 regular bowler, two subs, and two blinds. Our league has added a legal lineup rule stating at least 2 regular bowlers must be present (subs do not count). This led towards a lot of confusion for the other team, additionally they weren't informed until the 2nd game. Then, the two subs were bowling for the first time this season and there was confusion with them understanding the sanction fee vs. paying league fees. One of them had subbed 5 weeks last season and never paid a sanction fee. Either the regular team member paid the fee for the sub or some stuff really fell through the cracks last season.

On top of that, we lost the 2nd game by missing 50 pins below our average by quite a bit. Right after bowling a 263 with 11 strikes and an open on a split, my anchor scraped the top of his middle finger by the fingernail on his locker quite badly. He struggled the 2nd game with skin patch on the finger, but it was bleeding too much and he had to use a band-aid on it. He tried bowling with only the ring finger and thumb (legal until Aug 1, 2020!), but he couldn't get comfortable. So, the last game he tried bowling with his thumb, pinky, and ring instead and shoots a 244. He wished he had tried that sooner and said he might try it again if he wants to straighten out his shot.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/26/1805:45 AM

Well, bowling didn't go well, this week. the knee is very painful in the slide, to the point that my body actually stops before it. That puts me off balance and in a worse finish position.

Without the knee bend, I can't slide, can't extend, and don't release properly. I have slowed down to under 12 mph, as I have noticed on the above monitor speed indicator. And, that makes my hook uncontrollable, at times. I fly right past single pin spares to the left. And, the 9 pin is the hardest pin for me. Missed it left, twice. Each time, the ball dove in the final 5+ feet.

In Sr League, I pulled out a Urethane ball to use. Actually, to practice instead of my regular balls. I just get no finish with it, leaving 11, 10 pins. Then, missing 5. All to the left, hooking my spare ball at 12 mph. I have to go back and practice killing my hook on right side spares.

All the things I have learned and practiced over the years are hurting me now. My release is strong, but too strong at this speed. I now have to change my release on spares, where I have tried to maintain the same release, just change balls. I can't slide and now have to plant. My steps are shorter affecting my timing.

I'm a mess!!!

But, I have to fix it, as I will hurt my teams.

Haha, I found a printout in my bag. Shows the night where I had 21 strikes in a row, the back 11 of game 1 and the front 10 in game 2. Now, I can't even get a Turkey. Heck, those 2 games are higher then my 3-game series now.

When I first hurt my knee (now over 7 years ago), I did bowl 2 years taking only 1-step and averaged 194. I may go back to that.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/28/1811:15 AM

Had a mediocre week. Sunday 235,215,203. Just not carrying well enough after the first game. Too many corner pins. Tried to adjust to hit the pocket higher midway through the 3rd and left a 6-8. Only open of the night. Team got swept too. Wednesday I had 213, 247, 191. Progress for this league considering the slow start but never had a good look after the first 4 frames. Started with my Pyramid Blood Moon Rising which gave me the first 4 but after that it just seemed like the ball just quit on me. Started reacting later and then not reacting at all. Can't believe my speed went up that much where it was that big of a difference. Switched to my Brute Strength which rolls earlier to get me through the rest of the night and found it for awhile in the 2nd game but by the 3rd felt like I had no room for error. Team took 17 out of 26

Last night 193, 234, 211. Bowling against the vacant team and in game 1 just got screwed on carry. Pins are in bad need of replacement in this center and the pair that we were on just seemed to have really bad ones. Can't rely on any light mixers and even some of the flush strikes don't carry if you didn't have enough angle. Needed just a mark in the 10th to win my point and I come in a little light and go pocket 7-10. Eliminator cut was 198 as well. Gross.

Second game I found it and shot clean 234 but in the 3rd pulled the first shot, left a split but managed to rebound enough to shoot 211. But striking was not as easy as last week (scores seemed to be down across the house as well from last week) Team took 22 out of 25 against the vacant which is a gimme game almost because you only have to bowl within 15 of your average to take your point so we cleaned up. Seems like a bad idea in a scratch league. Probably something that will come up in the meeting next year (last year they had an even amount of teams so this is new to the league as well) when not everyone gets to bowl the vacant.

Feel like I'm throwing it well but need a little bit stronger shot for the ball to get up and go through the pins. My spare shooting was actually really good this week going perfect on single pins and I feel like my release has been consistent. Time to go practice and work on it.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/28/1801:57 PM

practice last week helped, I learned the new ball's shape and able to get a solid starting point for the beginning of the night. Shot well but opened/ split in the 10th of the first 2 games with multiple strikes leading in. Last game finished with 3 strikes. The black n gold slams the pocket but angle can get a bit steep. Leaving big splits or solid 9 and 10pins. Throwing at the arrows is 18 and breakpoint is 6-9bd. I can jam up the middle 9bd to carry if I up the speed to 16mph, 15 seems to be my happy spot right and swing out, problem is solid 9 or 10pin if it comes in too steep.

191, 199, 217 = 607 for the night. Should coulda been better. But was the first solid night I had so far since my come back. I feel like I'm in control of the ball n swing n speed now, where I was just hucking and praying before. Practice helps, repetition is the foundation

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 09/30/1810:33 PM

Good stuff J, glad you got something out of your practice. Too many bowlers don't practice at all or practice without a purpose.

Had a good practice myself on Friday working on adjusting my release and finding something that worked. Had my high series of the season tonight. 238, 200, 257 for 695. Second game had a chance to go off the sheet and be in the 240s but in the 9th pulled a shot and left a 2,7,8 which resulted in my only open of the night. Other than that got much better ball reaction and had 10 strikes in the last game. Subbing in this center tomorrow so hoping to throw my first 7 of the season.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/03/1812:10 PM

another poor night, shot 547. High game was 194 with the punch out in the 10th. Ave will dip from 191 to 189 next week

I'm thinking my black n gold hammer is too angular on the pocket leaving little wiggle room. That or the THS is playing like a sport for me. 3 guys threw 300s last night, one guy threw 289 and 280 first two games. He ended with 81550* x 4 3/4" x 35* layout

Anytime I moved to try a different angle was leaving splits. If I stay where I was I'd leave solid 10pin all night. If I swing out and let it come back in off the 5-6bd, would leave solid 4s or 4/7s. If I played inside it would punch the face and leave back row splits

I'm still on out of box surface. Maybe I'll add some shine to get down a weee bit more and not loose energy.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/04/1811:57 PM

Not bad Richie. J - having the right equipment for what you're bowling on is definitely half the battle. Doesn't substitute for good bowling but having the wrong ball can get you into a lot of trouble. Case in point: last night we had a lefty sub for us that threw the ball great, but he had all shiny weaker symmetrical stuff and was consistently leaving flat 7s and a few pocket 7-10s. He had a good game in the 3rd when the lanes opened up a bit but a stronger ball would've made a huge difference for him.

Good amount of bowling for me this week. Monday I subbed and went 212, 208, and 230. First game I was actually clean the whole way with carry being an issue after an opening double. Switched balls in game 2 and did better until a few misses resulted in splits and finally put together a strong 3rd game that would have been a lot better had I not pulled a shot and opened in the 9th before striking out to end the night. Helped a team that was near the bottom of the standings win 7 of 9 though.

Wednesday 218, 224, 173. Actually threw the ball like crap in warmup and to start the game. Had a work outing at another bowling alley earlier in the day and the only problem is that it was candlepin and I think that screwed me up with muscle memory because I was pulling a lot of my shots. But fortunately I carried a few brooklyns and was making my spares and I was able to strike out 9th & 10th and was throwing it really well with some extra stuff on it by the end of that game (even carried a messenger for one of those strikes which I almost never get).

Started the 2nd game with a triple but got a little erratic toward the end and game 3 that plus missing the transition a few times and getting punished spelled disaster. However my opponent struggled and I was able to get my point in the 3rd despite losing the first 2 games. Team got killed lost 21-5.

Tonight in the scratch league wasn't feeling too good about our prospects considering we had a bowler that was going to be absent and we were unable to find a sub that fit into the average criteria. We had to take his blind score of 164 against a bowler that's 21 pins higher. However the 3 of us were able to take our individual points which was good enough for a split since we lost the game. I only shot 194 but it was good enough from the #3 position. Unfortunately the approaches were pretty bad and I got a little tentative with a few shots and paid the price for throwing it too slow. But in the 2nd I got into a groove and actually had a six pack and was hoping for a 280 before a ringing 7 in the 9th frame. Settled for 248. Ended with 216 for a 658 series but plenty good enough to take my point and team went 20-5. We moved into 6th and get the first place team next week.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/05/1804:39 PM

yah I feel like I'm starting over again. pretty much rolling the widow plus spare ball. I need to add another to the bag but not sure what at this point, the storm is for heavy and rolls out too fast. We're the 2nd league on Tuesdays, lanes are broke down already. this is me, pretty bad vids qual from my phone. Lanes are always dark here https://www.instagram.com/p/BoA8sH9Bpit/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/05/1811:30 PM

My last two weeks have gone fairly well, but I've had one low game each week ruin a good 700 series. Wend 279,183,228 for a 690 last week. I couldn't string strikes the 2nd game and my first missed 10 pin of the season plus a 4-9 split in the 10th sunk that game. I moved a bit in the 3rd game and got relatively comfortable again. I had used the Turbo the whole night. Our team took 5.

Tonight, I started strong but after striking the first 3 frames, the Turbo went really bad over-under. Two straight 3-6-10's I made, a bucket I missed, and a 4-7-10. I put the Turbo away after I tried to move in and it didn't recover enough. I finished OK with my Super Natural to save a 187. I got really lined up with it the 2nd game and it hit great for a 267. I missed a transition in the 3rd game by a few frames, but still shot 245 for a 699. We ended up taking 3 points.

The highlight of tonight for me was watching my teammate badly pull a shot and hit only the 7 pin which bounced back out to knock down the 9 pin. I've heard of things like that happening before, but I've never seen someone leave a 1-2-3-4-5-6-8-10 in person.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/07/1810:30 PM

Well at least you adjusted unlike one guy in the league I subbed in last week who insisted on staying outside and bowling a 93. LOL.

Had my highest series of the season tonight after a disappointing tournament outing yesterday. Really focused on trying to throw a better shot to strike cause the other parts of my game are there (spare shooting, consistency) but not seeing the high scores due to lack of carry. So need to stay behind it better and really get the knee bend at the foul line. Shot 214, 248, and 256 for 718. Flagged a 7 pin in the first game but was otherwise clean. Threw 24 strikes tonight which is also a season high. Could really see the difference in ball motion getting a lot more on the back end.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/09/1812:42 AM

I was very conscious of my speed, tonite. Since my knee operations, I have lost a ton of speed. I used to roll at 17.5 mph. Now, I can barely hold 12. So, when we started, I watched the speed indicator on every ball. I gradually rose from 11 to 12+. And, the results were there, shooting a 190 in game 1, with a split open. In game 2, I was able to hold a 13.5-14 by lengthening my first step and extending my arm. a 230 was the result.

Then, came game 3. Oh wow. For some reason, I was back below 12 mph. And, I couldn't control the back end. 4 splits in a row for 4 opens, and they were big ones. Then, I flagged a 10 pin, hooking my spare ball in front in the 10th for a 135.

I have no answer why I slowed down. I was conscious of my speed, but just couldn't get it back.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/10/1804:13 PM

So, Monday I focused on my speed and a target of over 14 mph. Then, came Sr league tues. On my first roll in practice, my slide foot stuck on my first step and I hurt my knee. I walked off shaking my head.

How can I hurt it in the walk of the approach? I didn't even slide.

Well, as I found out, the approaches were so sticky, my shoe would never slide. the desk said they cleaned the approaches. But, did go out and use alcohol and a rag.

then it dawned on me. Its raining outside and very humid inside. When did they open with their delayed opening schedule? And, when did they turn on the Air to dehumidify the house?

That was the answer. We bowl practice at 11:45 and they opened at 11:30. turned the Air on then. The approaches were really wet from humidity.

So, I couldn't walk on the approaches for the entire league as now, my soles were damp.

So, I bowled using only 1 step for 3 games. Rolled 516, well under average and my team lost 3 games. I was the high bowler, haha.

It didn't seem to hurt others as most seniors don't slide. I don't walk up, but I do shuffle my feet, sliding them on the floor as I walk. My feet stuck on every step.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/11/1803:19 PM

Although my execution was much better in the third game, a couple of untimely splits prevented that game from scoring better. There were a couple of single-pin misses, including one filling the last frame.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/13/1807:38 AM

248-258-209 for a 715 last night for me. Was lined up most of the night which was good since I knew the lanes were going to get rather used up considering the team we were bowling. I ended the night targeting at 14 with my Super Natural which was deeper than I had played this season with that ball. The only disappointment was I had a clean night up until the 10th frame of the last game when I either got a little slow and/or tugged it a little to leave a Greek church. I was on a turkey and could have had a 248 that game had I struck out and we might have had a chance to take the last game instead of losing. Oh well, we still took 5 out of 7 points going into a position round next week.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/14/1808:17 AM

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/14/1812:15 PM

Yeah, I know that its not just me and it was pretty much almost over by my turn anyway. I bowl 4th our our team, the 3rd and 5th bowlers were also coming in on at least 3 in a row but all three of us probably needed to at least double to have a good chance. 3rd went high and left a 3-6-10 that he made, then struck. I left my mess and my anchor left and made something I don't remember but by then we were done anyway and he didn't care. He did his usual "throw my spare ball straight around 25-30 mph to try to break the head pin" on his fill ball with his spare ball, which is always fun to watch.

I don't know how many for sure, but I know the team I'm on has lost more than a few games when I've shot 300.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/17/1801:03 PM

first night of league using the Halo. Took me half a game to find solid pocket, moved 5 left from shadow. From shadow practice to game three, I was over left 12 boards total, few boards left before I'm pressed on the ball return. This ball is solid 8-10 left of the black n gold to make solid pockets. It hooks and as long as I don't lay it flat it will hit the pocket. The ball did better missing right 2-3 boards of break point vs missing left. Break was around 7-8. I'd have to miss 3-5board left to find enough oil to slide near the pocket and not punch the face resulting in splits. Still learning but threw an average night in the end. 167, 210, 213 (ave 187).

I still had some near pocket splits with the halo, fix was moving a board at a time and Swing it while that line held. Speed was consistent 16mph thru the night I didn't try to transition to the black n gold. I wanted to learn this ball and how it break down without much traffic on this line.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/21/1807:57 AM

Friday night was a position night and we entered technically 1st in a 3 way tie for 1st based on total pinfall. I misread the lanes a little in practice and thought I needed to play more direct. Using my Super Natural, I struck the first two frames but left a pocket 7-10 I on the 3rd which had me doubt the reaction I was getting. I tried switching to the Turbo which struck nice in the 4th, but I then left two straight 10 pins. Made them and switched back to the Super Natural as I wasn't happy with the 10's and it went high for a split. After that I finally moved to where I had been playing the last few weeks and was lined up the rest of the night. I salvaged a 183 the first game and finished strong with a 237 and a 245 for a 665 series with no opens after the 1st game. I'm still very happy with my spare shooting, I've missed one single pin in the first 7 weeks.

Fortunately after a rocky start the team pulled off a 1 pin win the 1st game and won big the 2nd. They rallied late in a close 3rd game so we took 5. The 3rd team in the 3 way tie got swept and the team in 4th was only 2 points behind the 3 way tie so now we're tied for 1st with the team that was 4th before Friday.

The 3 way tie for 1st had me thinking about a question. Our bylaws have a 3 game rolloff for first place in the possibility of a tie. What happens if there was a 3 way tie going into the rolloff instead of just the position round? I'd think that you would need to get all 3 teams on the same pair or there could be a perceived advantage. I don't think doing a small stepladder would be right since I don't think seeding by pinfall and having one team only need to win once is right either along with needing to spread it over two weeks. Just curious, the odds of this happening are unlikely.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/25/1808:19 AM

I'm not sure what they did to the lanes on Monday. But, they announced it would be like the new recommended pattern and volume. Not sure what that is. Anyone have any insight on that?

I found the lanes to be less snappy. The ball carried longer with a very controllable arc, to me. Others commented that there was a lot of oil, which I didn't notice. It was just laid different to me.

those that swung the ball were more inconsistent. I stood 32, rolled out to the 8 board at the break, which was 45 feet. And, it came back nicely. The entry angle was not as severe and I carried high hits better. And, NO 10 PINS. I found that on high hits, the ball didn't go thru the head pin, but rather straight to the 5.

658 was reasonable, after my dismal start.

My down range target is the reflection of the 6 pin on the lane, and I can't tell you what arrow I roll over, probably between 13-15. As, I focus downlane. My old house had range finder marks, and I got used to looking far downlane. This house doesn't have range finders, so it takes a little adjustment.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/25/1811:57 PM

Good job Richie.

After breaking 700 a few weeks ago haven't been able to get back there in any of my leagues. Feel like I'm throwing the ball better than ever but still not quite lined up and not getting quite the motion I want down the lane. But I've avoided having really bad series and I'm able to at least avoid bowling under 600. Had 626 on Sunday and 615 last night.

Tonight though couldn't have asked for a worse start. 1 strike in the first 5 frames and 3 flat 7s. Flagged one then tried to adjust to hit higher in the pocket and went high for a 2,4,7,8. Couldn't get the 8 out on the spare attempt. Then a split and a 3rd open, sitting at 120 after 8. Struck in the 9th and had a chance to salvage 180, but moved in a bit to adjust off the last shot and went pocket 7-10 for a lousy 146.

The nadir of the season for me right there. Using a ball that I know works at this house (DV8 Alley Cat) and really nothing else in my bag that I felt comfortable going to. So instead tried a hand position change to get my track closer to the thumb hole and not have the ball come off the pattern so violently so I can play my down and in shot and importantly not get punished for trying to give it a little extra at the end.

It worked. I targeted the 9 board the rest of the night, focused on not bellying it, and the ball came off the pattern nice and smoothly and went through the pins. Put together my two highest games of the season: 268 and 267. Ended with 6 in a row in the 2nd game and started with the front 7 in the 3rd before leaving a flat 7 (just a little bit outside). But really happy with the comeback.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/27/1807:57 AM

I wasn't sure how league was going to go last night after practice. I threw my first shot with my Super Natural which hit solid for a nice strike but then I moved to the right lane. I had already noticed that my ball came back quite wet after my shot on the left lane and it hardly moved at all on the right lane. This continued for a few more shots, OK on left, hardly moving on right. It wasn't just me either, everyone was having trouble on the right lane and the left lane was sketchy too. They had a bunch of bumper bowling right before our league, gotta love carrydown.

I switched to the Turbo in practice and had an OK first game for a 214 with an open in the 9th frame for a 3-10 (only open of night). That was on the right lane which had finally started to break down. We somehow won that game, my anchor struggled a lot and shot 80 pins below average that game. The rest of the night, I was really lined up, I shot a 278 the 2nd game with a converted 3-10 in the 3rd frame. My anchor bowler came back the 2nd game to beat his first game by 140 pins. I finished the night with a clean 233 for a 725. We took all 7, the last two games were both close in the 10th frame.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 10/30/1805:53 PM

Today in Sr League, it was a disaster. on the end pair of 39-40. You couldn't find 2 different lanes in the house. 40 hooked and 39 was slick. I finally used 2 different balls after the 5th frame of game 1, but still had trouble. Shot 144 in game 1 and 137 in game 2. And, I was high man in game 1 and second in game 2, where a 159 was high. The lowest average on our team is 175.

In game 3, I just used my spare ball for all shots and rolled it straight. Finished with a 224. That is NOT supposed to happen

We were bowling against a team of "not so good bowlers". Gave up 151 in cap per game. Lost the first by 80 and the second by over 100. Finally, won the last game.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 11/01/1804:08 PM

Some sloppy execution cost me a decent first game, and I was only able to get over average in the other two. An issue might have been pacing, as Steve was the only other bowler on the pair, with our opponents forfeiting.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 11/01/1811:13 PM

At least you guys got your points anyway. It was good seeing you on Sunday as well.

Decent week. Bowled a respectable 200, 224, 198, 236 at Richie's house on Sunday. Wasn't enough to make the cut but I've struggled there in the past on their house shot so it's progress.

Last night had 227, 213, 213 and tonight went 222, 212, 235. Used the same ball both nights; my DV8 Alley Cat despite the 2 patterns being quite different. Decided to attack the 44' pattern in my Wednesday league a little differently and play it from more of an outside angle. Worked well in the first game, had 2 other lefties on the pair so had a little bit of an issue with transition but held my own. Getting a big backending ball would probably be my best bet to really score in that house though.

Tonight on the shorter pattern targeted closer to 10 and couldn't buy a strike the first 6 frames and had 1 open in there (chopping a 4-7). Meanwhile my opponent started with an open followed by 5 in a row. But found it the frame after and had a a triple going into the 10th while my opponent slowed down. We both had the same max score of 224 and we both struck 10th & 11th, but he got up in the 12th and went through the nose for a 7 count. I almost did the same but survived with a 6-10 to take my point by 1 pin (but ended up missing the eliminator cut by 2 pins, boo).

Second game had a 213 with 1 open on a split (got punished on a tugged shot) but threw it pretty solid the rest of the night and by the 3rd game had to swing it a bit but I was getting the ball to corner and strike as opposed to leaving flat 7s which I'm prone to in those situations. Had a chance to go off the sheet for 248 but after striking in the 10th threw a wide shot and went 8,1 to finish the night. Solid night but I look around at some of the other scores in the house and wish mine were better. Still yet to have a 700 in that league. But I did take all of my points even though the team lost 14-11.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 11/10/1807:04 AM

Last week, we bowled the vacancy. I'm not sure if it was my setup on the approach or not reading the lanes correctly, but I struggled the first game last week to a 185. I thought I wasn't doing something correctly, so I refocused on how I hold the ball and finished strong and ended up with a 664 series last week. We did lose the first game, but won the last two.

We started practice last night for this week's league, and neither my ball and a bowler on the other team came back. One lane didn't reset pins either. It turns out that we should have never been put on that pair, a motor was burned out and they moved us next to the open bowlers on a pair that was bowled on already. I'm thinking that this night will be rough, and it seemed it when the left lane was hooking much more. I made the right adjustment on that lane and was really lined up most of the night to shoot 277-237-276 for a 790. If I hadn't had a few bad frames in the 2nd game, one for a split and two others that cost me a ton of count, I would of had the 800. I did have two strikes I did not deserve at all in there. We did win 2 games and wood with 2 bowlers not present, which should keep us in 1st.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 11/14/1810:38 AM

Whelp....During this swirling the drain season, I had my FIRST 600+ series last night. Over the last 6 years I have seen my average dwindle from 204 to about 179. I am sure most of this is age related and NOT physical age. I have trouble focusing anymore, which USED to be automatic. anyways, 191 (with THREE doubles), 213 (started with a 4 timer), and 204 (had to spare a rap 10 in the 10th to secure the 600). Now, I DID have 4 easy wiffs, and enough strikes that if I pick them all it prolly amounts to 650.

After starting the shift with a dbl, I threw one through the face and left the 3-4-6-7-10 and covered just the 3....5 count, 6 out. nice. I would like to say I have turned a corner, but I know better....just an isolated good session in a sea of dreck.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 11/15/1803:09 PM

My execution was clearly better in the second game, though I thought I threw good shots to leave the 10s I missed in the third game. The missed 10s were stranger because I made the first two 10s that I left.

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 11/18/1811:25 AM

Bowling when your brain is not working at its best capacity is not fun. The nor'easter on Thursday took my normal 28 mile 35 minute long commute into a 4 hour and 20 minute white knuckle nightmare and I was way much more fortunate than others who tried to leave for home later than I did or plain got stuck. When I got home, I was spent. I didn't sleep well that night and even though I didn't have to work on Friday I still had to clear snow and I didn't feel mentally or physically great by league time.

In practice, my Turbo barely hooked and came back slathered in oil (more thoughts on that later) which made it very hard to clean with my ball wipe. Tried to fight with it or the Super Natural, but not much movement so I concluded that they actually put out more volume and I can't use urethane. Switched to my Critical Mass and threw one shot with it before practice ended but I did like the reaction. I immediately entered an over-under struggle for 7 frames with the Critical Mass. I threw 2 questionable strikes, one light and one high trip 4, picked up one spare, and had 4 opens, two of which were single pins I missed and the other two were a split and a washout. I switched to the Turbo again and it struck flush and reacted great like it had all season so far. It then ran high on me on the lane I thought was tight and picked the spare. Then, left a 10 pin in the 10th that I missed, but at least I was finally lined up with a solid 142 game. The rest of the night with the Turbo I had no opens and shot 237-228 to salvage a 607. We only won the middle game, and fortunately my 142 was most likely not a deciding factor in game 1 as we lost by 130 pins.

So, I believe that my Turbo which barely flares had to pick up a ton of oil in the pit to me to get covered in oil nearly everywhere in places nowhere near my track. I also believe that there was a lot of open bowling before league and the plastic is why the pit belt got so oily. By the time I switched back to the Turbo, any excess oil must have been gone since it came back with only oil on the track and easily cleaned with the wipe. Any thoughts on this?

Re: Fall/Winter 2018-19 Leagues Thread - 11/19/1801:49 PM

Moe Morrison suggested that I should've stayed in Sunday Niters and left my other league. She may have had a point, because I had, by far, my best night of the season subbing for Peter last night. I struggled a bit early, but was clean after the 4th frame first game, and had at least one strike in the 10th in each, punching out with six in the second game. As I said in the BowlSK comment, "I need more of these on Wednesday night!"